Muslims Allege Biased Police Action in Communal Clashes in UP’s Sultanpur

by Emily John Digital Marketing Service Provider

Trouble-torn Hunumanganj area of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday was limping back to normalcy after remaining gripped in tension for three days due to communal clashes between groups of people of two communities.

Tension erupted at around 8: 30 PM on 5 August when a group of Hindus gathered outside a mosque and raised slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’, while sharing sweets to celebrate the foundation stone-laying of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The ecstatic crowd also burst fire-crackers, a complaint by Muslim residents addressed to the Police Superintendent said.

When Muslims objected to holding the celebrations outside the mosque, it did not go well with the Hindus who ganged up and started hurling abuses at protesters. They even barged into the houses of Muslims and thrashed them, triggering clashes between the two sides.

The Muslims called up the police but, according to Mohammad Ahmad, who lodged the complaint, said the uniformed men also gate-crashed into Muslim homes and beat up the occupants.

“Hindu goons and the police thrashed even women and children,” said Ahmad while speaking with Clarion India on phone.

The complaint, which says that a woman and her two daughters aged 6 and 12 were beaten up, names some victims of the mob violence. These are Mohd Aslam, Mohd Anas, Mohd Zafar, Mohd Shakeel, Kausar Ali and , Mohd Wakeel, whose wife and kids were thrashed.

The accused named in the complaint are Sandeep Kuldeep, Arvind, Aakash, Satendra Upadhay, Chanchal, Sumit, Rajan, Anil, Suraj Singh, Rajesh, Ravi and Shubham.

While both sides have filed the complaints, according to Muslim residents, the police were biased in their action as they detained dozens of Muslims, though most of them were released later.

According to Ahmad, the police named seven Muslims in the case, five of whom have been arrested while two are still at large.

According to a report in Indian Express, Sultanpur SP Shiv Hari Meena said a case would be lodged from the other side if needed.

Several Muslim men migrated to safer places as they feared further police action and attack from mobs.

The Express report quotes a local BJP leader, who is also accused in the complaint by Muslims, alleging that while Hindus were celebrating the Ayodhya event, one Mohammad Akram abused them, adding that Muslims also entered some homes of Hindus and beat them with lathis, axe and stones.

Meena even justified the police action of intruding into Muslim homes, saying “this is how we catch people.”

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